The sound
of Mr. Low's busy pen alone breaks the stillness during much of the
day; so silent is it that the first heavy drops of the daily tropical
shower on the roof have a startling effect.
Mr. Low is greatly esteemed, and is regarded in the official circles of
the Settlements as a model administrator. He has had thirty years'
experience in the East, mainly among Malays, and has brought not only a
thoroughly idiomatic knowledge of the Malay language, but a sympathetic
insight into Malay character to his present post. He understands the
Malays and likes them, and has not a vestige of contempt for a dark
skin, a prejudice which is apt to create an impassable gulf between the
British official and the Asiatics under his sway. I am inclined to
think that Mr. Low is happier among the Malays and among his apes and
other pets than he would be among civilized Europeans!
He is working fourteen hours out of the twenty-four. I think that work
is his passion, and a change of work his sole recreation. He devotes
himself to the promotion of the interests of the State, and his evident
desire is to train the native Rajahs to rule the people equitably. He
seems to grudge every dollar spent superfluously on the English
establishment, and contents himself with this small and old-fashioned
bungalow. In this once disaffected region he goes about unarmed, and in
the daytime the sentries only carry canes.
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